Vladimir was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1975. He learned how to play chess in kindergarten, with support from home where his family also played. He very soon began competitive play and proved to be a strong player, winning the U16 European Chess Championship in the early 90s.
Vladimir later became a GM at 25 years old and continued playing predominantly in Europe. He won an individual silver medal on board 3 in the 2004 Olympiad. He also qualified for the World Cup in 2007.
Vladimir's reputation as a coach precedes him. His notable coaching experiences include coaching:
Team USA: includes coaching Jeffery Xiong to win the World Junior Chess Championship in 2016
Team USA at the World Youth Championship in Uruguay 2017
Team USA at the Pan American Youth Chess Championship 2022 in Uruguay
Team USA at the 2025 Pan-Am Youth (U8-U18) Chess Championships, July 27 - August 3, Lima, Peru
2025 World Youth (U14, U16, U18) Chess Championships, October 3 - October 16, Durres, Albania
Coach of GM Antoaneta Stefanova, 2004 Women’s World Chess Champion in Elista and Runner-up in the 2012 Women’s World Chess Championship
Coach of IM Carissa Yip for the 2020 Cairn's Cup
Currently, Vladimir is a coach of the CCC's Elite and Super Elite Teams.